The Celtics were given two days off after their sweep of the New York Knicks. But according to Doc, Shaq will take two more days before he attempts to get back on the court:

"Shaq is not going to practice today, and he will not practice tomorrow," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Wednesday. "We hope that he'll practice the next day, Friday. But we don't know that. We'll see."

"It really depends on the date -- Friday, Saturday, whatever," Rivers said of Shaq's return in the next round. "I don't know if I'm confident or not, but I'm hopeful. He's doing a lot better, I know that.

I feel as though every couple of days, we get a new report saying that Shaq will attempt to get back on the court in a couple of days. And so on. Hopefully Shaq will be able to clock a few minutes at some point in Round 2, as his interior presence would help us tremendously.

I don't know, I don't see him ever coming back. I am sick of this hush-hush in the Celtics organization about things. If he's out - come out and tell us. What, you think that by suggesting all the time that he MIGHT come back you actually worry other teams?! Bullshit.

I agree with both of you -- I think the extra time will help Shaq rest (76ers -- PLEASE take the series to 7 games).

I wasn't insinuating that Shaq should get back on the court faster, I just meant I am sick of hearing he will be back in 2 days and then he isn't. I would rather have them come out and say "He might never be back" than to hear "He will be back on X day" and then that is not the case.

I really hope he WILL come back. And i hope WHEN he comes back, he will start, cause he will have limited minutes - so JO will be the big-man-punch off of the bench - instead of depending on Baby. We need him to solely play PF.

and yea i agree w/you, DH - i hope Philly extends that series - mostly because the C's can use all the rest they can get. It'll be like an All Star break.lol And it gives time for Shaq to prep for Round 2 - vs Philly (lol) or the Heat (most likely)

and the Heat has an average center? Your center is below average at best. what's more, you don't even have a decent point guard to go against Rondo!!! and did you catch that Wade can't guard Allen to save his life? don't even get me started with KG > Bosh fake tough guy. You also forgot that you lost 3 out of 4 regular season games. stop saying you'll destroy the C's when you haven't even finished your first round, idiot!

The Heat have players who can score in the paint. A center for us is not that important. Yes, Wade has Problems following Allen through screens. But why don't you mention the problems Allen has with Wade.^^ We won the last reg. season game, that matters more for our team, since we were developing throughout the whole season. Those first two losses mean nothin' and those were even very close.

hahah dear heat fan please check who has the highest FG% in the league rite now and den brag to us about y'all being able to score in the paint!.u wnat to deny the 1st 2 loss cos heat was jst building up as a team..but u consider the win against us at the end of regular season as win?? when we had half a roster traded and the core of our starter gone! RIGHT!!!!!!

ohh who m i talking to...the heat fan rite!!..i forgot y'all dont knw TEAMgame..so u dont understand how it affects a team dat plays TEAMgame when half their team gets traded.....u dont knw chemistry so u are far from understanding anything i will say or wish to say!!!...hence i will end here!!!.....cos talking to u is going to be like talking to a stick!!

Heat doesn't know chemistry because they don't have one. James and Wade are just taking turns and being polite. They're still awkward playing together. Crunch time is when it all matters, and so far, it's been well documented how being clutch is the heat's waterloo.

As far as I'm concerned I don't expect Shaq to be playing anytime soon. Just surprise me if/when that happens.

C's Centers:Jermaine O'Neal - who has been a strong/reliable center since his return.Nenad Krstic - had some very good games in his first week or two w/the C's. He is very solid coming off the bench rather than starting.And Shaq if he comes back. He bullied the Heats big men early in the season, so dont forget that.

Dwyane Wade CANT guard Ray Allen on the screens and it has been proven - nobody in the the NBA can. And of course Allen has trouble defending Wade one on one - but Ray has vastly improved his defense since joining the Celtics.

Rondo WILL destroy the Heats point guards - both defensively AND offensively. He will hit the occasional jumper when you leave him open and he will break down the Heats defense and get in the paint for a drive and kick or drive and score.

KG owns Bosh - nothing more need be said here. The Boshtrich has been overhyped since joining the Heat. KG will stop the Boshtrich defensively, and offensively - the Boshtrich cant defend Garnett. - lol, the Boshtrich.

The BEST matchup in the series is Paul Pierce vs LeBron James. They both defend each other well - even when they both are shooting lights out, they still defend each other very well.

BENCH:6th Man - Big Baby for the Celtics. NO Haslem which really sucks for yall.LOLDelonte West > Mario Chalmbers [he is one dimensional]James Jones vs Jeff Green will be a solid matchup.

another thing: you talk about rebounding - the C's dont avg a lot of rebounds cause they are smart. They dont fight for offensive rebounds cause they want to get back on D so they dont give up easy transition buckets to the opponent.

gtf outta here you dumbass heat fan. learn a thing or two about basketball and stop following LeBron - cause im sure you werent a heat fan last year.

THIS IS FOR HEATFAN:IT HAS BEEN ALREADY A MASSECRE WHEN WE BEAT YA 3 TO 1 IN REGULAR SEASON SO U GUYS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE IN TROUBLE.WE ARE THE EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS FOR A REASON DONT FORGET.MOST OF OUR WINS IN THE REGULAR SEASON WERE WON CLEARLY WITHOUT PERKINS,SO WE ARE USED TO PLAYING WITHOUT HIM THIS SEASON.JUST IN CASE YOU THROW PERKINS IN THE CONVERSATION.WASNT IT US THAT GAVE THE HEAT THEIR FIRST LOST,LOL.

Yah wether Shaq is healthy or not, he's gonna return and if not Miami, that's fine. I definitely see Celtics winning the series without Shaq. Remember it's Celtics Big 4 vs Miami's Big 2 (Exclude Bosh he's overrated). Point guard and Celtics bench still make Celtics deeper. When Shaq returns it will cause possibly Bulls if they meet in 3rd round problems for overrated Noah and Boozer. Those 2 are just energy players all hype. Rose ain't no Chris Paul and looks like he's carrying too much of the offense. Celtics look completely solid for the finals. CELTICS are underdogs once again and they love it.